Formula 1 teams have been fired a warning shot about employing tyre temperature tricks at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, after some were caught with rubber that had been heated above the legal limit in final practice.
The cool conditions in Las Vegas, allied to it being a track around which generating tyre temperature is difficult, means there is a premium in teams getting their tyres as hot as possible ahead of on-track running.
Current F1 regulations are strict in terms of how much and for how long teams are allowed to heat their rubber for – with slick rubber only allowed to be heated to 70C for two hours prior to the session it is running in.
The FIA has procedures in place to check for compliance on this matter, with tyres regularly tested before they are put into action.
A heat gun is used to check the temperature of the tread of the tyre, rather than the blanket itself or the controller settings.
While there are occasional times during its regular check when the FIA finds tyres that are over the 70C limit, it has been put on alert for teams potentially pushing things further in Las Vegas with multiple indiscretions found in the same session.
The Race has learned that during the phase of the final practice session when teams switched across to slicks, two teams were found to have gone over the 70C limit.
As per the FIA’s standard procedure, the teams were notified of the temperature findings and were informed that if those tyres were used in their current state then that would be a breach of the regulations.
To avoid the matter being taken further, either the tyres had to be cooled down so they were below the 70C limit before they hit the track, or the teams had to switch to an alternative set of rubber to not risk being reported to the stewards.
The identity of the two teams has not been revealed, but the FIA catching two competitors above the prescribed limits has put it on alert about the potential of games being played over the remainder of the weekend.
Any team that runs on track with a tyre that is above the 70C limit in a competitive session risks being reported to the stewards, and a penalty could go as far as disqualification for a technical infringement.
Teams have long been known to try to play around with the limits of tyre temperature heating – which has included what one source said was “exotic” technology a few years ago to find ways of heating tyres higher than the settings on blankets suggested.
One senior team figure said ahead of qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix that having tyres enough above the 70C limit to trigger an FIA alert was almost certainly not accidental – and will have required a deliberate decision to push the boundaries.
The FIA’s stance in being hot on what teams are doing in Las Vegas means competitors will be more robust in ensuring they do not go above the maximum limit.
